Joe Hardy stopped. “Thanks,” he said, grabbing the carrots and dropping them on his tray.

He rushed to catch up in the cafeteria line. He was in such a hurry that he accidentally bumped into the kid in front of him.

“Hey, watch it!” the kid said.

A teacher named Ms. Prentice was standing nearby. She taught a different third-grade class from the one Joe was in.

“Is everything all right, boys?” she asked.

“Joe almost made me drop my tray.” The other kid frowned at Joe.

“Sorry,” Joe said. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“No harm done.” Ms. Prentice smiled. “Just do your best not to destroy the cafeteria, all right, Joe?”

As soon as he was through the line, Joe hurried toward his usual table. His brother, Frank, was already there. So were their friends Phil, Iola, and Callie. They all had brown bag lunches in front of them.

Usually Joe brought lunch from home too. His aunt Gertrude, who lived with the Hardy family, made lunches for Joe and Frank every day. But today Joe had been so excited that he’d forgotten to grab his lunch on his way out of the house.

“The lunch line was superslow today,” he said as he sat down. “What did I miss?”

Frank grinned. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell you. That might teach you not to forget your lunch next time.”

“Don’t tease him, Frank,” Iola said. “I don’t blame Joe for being too excited to remember his lunch today. We’re all excited that this Friday is Field Day!”

“I can’t wait,” Callie said. “We didn’t have Field Day at my old school.”

Callie had moved to Bayport recently. Even though she was new, she and Iola were already best friends.

“You’ll love it,” Iola told her.

Joe had just noticed that someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Chet?” he asked. Chet Morton was Iola’s brother and one of the Hardy brothers’ best friends. He always sat with them at lunch.

“I’m not sure,” Frank said. “He was in class this morning.”

“He’d better get here soon or he’ll miss lunch,” Iola said, looking at Phil. “How long until we can go outside and practice?”

Phil checked his fancy digital watch. He always had all the latest high-tech gadgets.

“Twelve-and-a-half minutes until recess,” he reported. “I think I’ll practice for the sack race today.” Each day that week at recess, students were allowed to practice for all the Field Day events.

Adam Ackerman was the biggest bully at Bayport Elementary. He wasn’t at the table right then. But his friends were bullies too. They were throwing popcorn at a boy standing nearby holding a lunch tray. One piece of popcorn went wide and landed in Joe’s blond hair.

Joe brushed it away. “Looks like those jerks are harassing the new kid,” he said. “Typical.”

“Oh yeah, that guy just moved here,” Iola said. “What’s his name again? I think it’s Tommy.”

“They’re fourth graders, but they’re still pretty cool,” she told him. “Even if we are going to crush them at Field Day.”

“Dream on,” Phil said with a laugh. “Us fourth graders are bigger, stronger, and faster than you third-grade twerps.”

Timmy opened his milk carton. “I’ve been hearing about Field Day since I got here last week,” he said. “I guess it’s a pretty big deal, huh?”

Iola nodded. “It’s superfun. Everyone can compete in as many games as they want. You get points for coming in first, second, or third. Whichever class has the most points at the end of the day wins a big party at Fun World!”

“What’s Fun World?” Timmy asked.

“It’s this cool place that has an arcade and batting cages and stuff,” Frank explained.

“I heard Fun World is donating the grand prize too—two free passes to Fun World!” Phil looked at Timmy. “That’s the prize for the person with the most points from the whole school.”

“Don’t forget the balloon stomp,” Joe said. That was his favorite Field Day event. Each competitor got a balloon tied to his or her ankle. Then they all tried to break everyone else’s balloons by stomping on them. “But you’re not going to win that one—I am,” Joe added. “The only one who beat me last year was Adam.”

Phil nodded. “And that’s only because he kept stomping on people’s toes when the teachers weren’t looking.”

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Joe Hardy stopped. “Thanks,” he said, grabbing the carrots and dropping them on his tray.

He rushed to catch up in the cafeteria line. He was in such a hurry that he accidentally bumped into the kid in front of him.

“Hey, watch it!” the kid said.

A teacher named Ms. Prentice was standing nearby. She taught a different third-grade class from the one Joe was in.

“Is everything all right, boys?” she asked.

“Joe almost made me drop my tray.” The other kid frowned at Joe.

“Sorry,” Joe said. “I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“No harm done.” Ms. Prentice smiled. “Just do your best not to destroy the cafeteria, all right, Joe?”

As soon as he was through the line, Joe hurried toward his usual table. His brother, Frank, was already there. So were their friends Phil, Iola, and Callie. They all had brown bag lunches in front of them.

Usually Joe brought lunch from home too. His aunt Gertrude, who lived with the Hardy family, made lunches for Joe and Frank every day. But today Joe had been so excited that he’d forgotten to grab his lunch on his way out of the house.

“The lunch line was superslow today,” he said as he sat down. “What did I miss?”

Frank grinned. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell you. That might teach you not to forget your lunch next time.”

“Don’t tease him, Frank,” Iola said. “I don’t blame Joe for being too excited to remember his lunch today. We’re all excited that this Friday is Field Day!”

“I can’t wait,” Callie said. “We didn’t have Field Day at my old school.”

Callie had moved to Bayport recently. Even though she was new, she and Iola were already best friends.

“You’ll love it,” Iola told her.

Joe had just noticed that someone was missing. “Hey, where’s Chet?” he asked. Chet Morton was Iola’s brother and one of the Hardy brothers’ best friends. He always sat with them at lunch.

“I’m not sure,” Frank said. “He was in class this morning.”

“He’d better get here soon or he’ll miss lunch,” Iola said, looking at Phil. “How long until we can go outside and practice?”

Phil checked his fancy digital watch. He always had all the latest high-tech gadgets.

“Twelve-and-a-half minutes until recess,” he reported. “I think I’ll practice for the sack race today.” Each day that week at recess, students were allowed to practice for all the Field Day events.

Adam Ackerman was the biggest bully at Bayport Elementary. He wasn’t at the table right then. But his friends were bullies too. They were throwing popcorn at a boy standing nearby holding a lunch tray. One piece of popcorn went wide and landed in Joe’s blond hair.

Joe brushed it away. “Looks like those jerks are harassing the new kid,” he said. “Typical.”

“Oh yeah, that guy just moved here,” Iola said. “What’s his name again? I think it’s Tommy.”

“They’re fourth graders, but they’re still pretty cool,” she told him. “Even if we are going to crush them at Field Day.”

“Dream on,” Phil said with a laugh. “Us fourth graders are bigger, stronger, and faster than you third-grade twerps.”

Timmy opened his milk carton. “I’ve been hearing about Field Day since I got here last week,” he said. “I guess it’s a pretty big deal, huh?”

Iola nodded. “It’s superfun. Everyone can compete in as many games as they want. You get points for coming in first, second, or third. Whichever class has the most points at the end of the day wins a big party at Fun World!”

“What’s Fun World?” Timmy asked.

“It’s this cool place that has an arcade and batting cages and stuff,” Frank explained.

“I heard Fun World is donating the grand prize too—two free passes to Fun World!” Phil looked at Timmy. “That’s the prize for the person with the most points from the whole school.”

“Don’t forget the balloon stomp,” Joe said. That was his favorite Field Day event. Each competitor got a balloon tied to his or her ankle. Then they all tried to break everyone else’s balloons by stomping on them. “But you’re not going to win that one—I am,” Joe added. “The only one who beat me last year was Adam.”

Phil nodded. “And that’s only because he kept stomping on people’s toes when the teachers weren’t looking.”

Product Image 1 of 1

Sports Sabotage

Frank and Joe bring their detective skills to the athletic arena in this all-new Hardy Boys Secret Files mystery!

It’s time for Field Day at Bayport Elementary and all the kids are excited! Whatever grade wins gets a pizza party, and the person with the highest personal score also gets a special prize. But when the field equipment is sabotaged the day before the events are supposed to start, it looks like Field Day might not happen after all—unless someone can find out who is behind the mess of ruined rackets, tangled jump ropes, and flattened balloons. Can Frank and Joe crack the case and save Field Day?

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